Afterlife
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: Death is but the next great adventure. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 Grieving

Author's Note: This is another piece I wrote sometime back for a LiveJournal RP I was in – my very first, the one for which I originally created my "puzzlemasters" account, but unfortunately it never got off the ground. Pity, too, cuz it was in interesting concept. This fic is a series of intro posts I'd written . . . wow, some two-plus years ago. I've held onto them all this time but never really considered posting because I'd thought of this "ficlet" as "incomplete." Still, I've always been fond of this and, looking at it again this morning, I realize that, in a sense, it is complete. And so I offer it. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Afterlife"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 1 – Grieving

In the silvered darkness, Yami sat in the folding chair, one arm propped on the desk as he gazed out the window in the slanted roof-wall of his _aibou's_ bedroom. He had reclined thus so many times . . . though perhaps not more often than he had in recent weeks . . .

Had it been a month-and-a-half already since they had gotten back from Egypt? Heh, had it _only_ been so long? The days had flown and yet, looking back, it might as well have been an eternity in the past. A sigh of quiet grief escaped him. _No . . . it was eternity that has been denied me . . . again_. He looked at the figure asleep in the bed next to him. It was not Yugi's fault. Had Yami not had Waboku on the field there at the last, the combat would have been Yugi's after he had denied Yami the ability to play "Monster Reborn." On Yami's next draw, he got Pot of Greed, which then gave him "Dian Keto" and "Call of the Haunted." Osiris returned one final time after all . . . and it was over.

_And what now?_

He had his name back, his memories, his true sense of self . . . but where did he go from here? Nowhere, apparently. The Puzzle still imprisoned his soul, still bound him to the Prime Material Realm. He had even decided not to go by his true name. That was the name of a past existence, no longer his. He would remain "Yami," at least for as long as he remained earthbound. He didn't mind so much, really, as it meant that he could remain with his friends - though it also meant that he would watch them grow old and pass on, while he remained unchanged.

_Or else - die senselessly . . . Gods of my fathers, have mercy_.

It had been a month since Anzu's death. Yugi was only _just_ showing signs of beginning to heal from that loss, his tender heart torn asunder by that first major, irrevocable parting in their tight-knit company of friends.

_And then, just today . . . Bakura . . . gentle "Ryou" . . . _

Yami folded over in grief, face buried in his hands as spectral tears flows down his cheeks. _Mighty Osiris, whose is the name that next appears in the Book of Duat? Who next will Anubis and Thot judge and send on the solar barges across the sea to the paradise islands of Aaru? Who next are we –_

_. . . am I . . . to lose?_

In his sleep, Yugi shifted restlessly, his own face wet with weeping.

* * *

Author's Note: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

The rp was called "theafterliferp" – http: / / community. livejournal. com/ theafterliferp /profile (remove spaces). The tag line of the comm was "Death is but the next great adventure." No, I'm not into character deaths, usually. The rp was set in the afterlife (duh, LOL) and there were already an Anzu-mun and Bakura-mun before I joined, hence the characters' mention in this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2 Suddenly

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Afterlife"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 2 – Suddenly

It happened so suddenly, without warning . . .

Yami shook his head in disbelief. _First Anzu, then Bakura . . . and now _this_. Isis and Hathor, what do I do?_

_. . . For that matter, what . . . what happened?_ He sighed. _All right, take stock. Aibou was running an errand for Grandpa, happened to pass the cemetery . . . all right, so he did not quite _happen_ to go that way. Gods, I _knew_ I should have talked him out of it! We were at Anzu's grave for some time before the snow began falling again. I wish this country's winter weather could make up its infernal mind – rain, snow, _pick_ one!_ Meh.

_Rain is what killed Bakura . . . _

_Oh, for the love of Ra, you! Stay focused! Now then . . . Aibou was walking home, thought he might cheer himself by taking a shortcut. The route is not without its danger, but we've gone that way hundreds of times – but there was ice, and Aibou's hands were cold, stiff with chill. He missed the ledge . . . Dear gods . . . _

Yami buried his face in his hands for a moment before forcing himself to turn and accept reality. He looked down at the body, with the spreading pool of red from under thick black locks, tears filling his eyes. _Ammit take it!! I wasn't fast enough. Had I reacted a second sooner, taken over _before_ he . . . No, he can't be dead. Maybe . . . maybe there's still time. Honda lives around here, doesn't he? If I . . . but he can't see or hear me. I dare not risk possessing and moving Aibou's body. Ah! Honda can't see me, but Johji's still young enough. Children can see ghosts. And animals. Honda's dog Blankey. Yes . . . yes, this can still work_. He started away, but when he got about ten feet from the body, he stopped abruptly as though he were wearing a harness and just reached the end of a leash. _W-what the . . . ??_ He turned at a groan behind him.

Yugi sat up – or his Astral self did, the body remaining in place. "Ugh . . . w-what . . . happened . . . ?" Soul-Yugi wore a representation of the Millennium Puzzle, just as Yami did, but the physical artifact that the body should have been wearing . . . was gone.

Yami rushed back as Yugi pulled himself to his feet and started to turn around, grabbing him by the shoulders. "NO! Aibou, don't . . . don't look."

Both startled as they realized that Yami "physically" had a hold of Yugi, which was not possible outside of their soul rooms. Or not supposed to be – ??

Yugi looked at the hands on his shoulders, hyper-aware of their weight, the pressure of the fingers digging into him from the equal shock of their owners, then stared up at his long-time friend and partner in the struggles they had lived through together, his eyes wide with surprise – even alarm. "O-other Me . . . ??"

* * *

Author's Note: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

As a point of interest, if I remember right, Bakura's story was that he'd been driving in the rain and lost control of his car at a bridge, going over the side. Anzu's story was that she'd been at work when a robbery turned deadly and she'd been shot in the crossfire. I remember the mun's one post on her journal, part of it commenting that Yugi had been desolate with grief, inconsolable, so I went with it. XD


	3. Chapter 3 So I'm Dead

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Afterlife"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 3 – "S-so . . . I'm dead . . . "

" . . . now what?" Yugi mused sullenly.

"If we were in Egypt, I might be able to answer that, Aibou," Yami murmured, then shrugged, "but to be bluntly honest, I've been dead for over three millennia and – w-what . . . ?" Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention – movement and a sensation of threat, of evil.

Yugi had not sensed it yet, his attention instead on something very important that was missing from his body. "Other Me, the Puzzle! It's gone!"

"Never mind that, Aibou! Behind me!" Yami grabbed his arm, backpedaling from the deep shadows under the bridge as blood-red eyes peered balefully from the depths, glowing some six feet off the ground. The stench of death – _old_ death – filled the air.

Without warning, it leaped – a nightmarish cross between a wolf and a reptile of some kind. Yami shoved Yugi off his feet one way even as he dove the other, tucking into a tumble that cut short with the same tug-on-harness feeling he had gotten earlier. "Blood of Osiris!" he swore as the creature turned his way. He rolled under the monster's belly to reunite with Yugi, who had tripped over his own mortal body.

8 8 8 8 8

Yugi managed to regain his feet as Yami backed into him again. He gasped, watching in astonishment as Yami pulled from the Deck box on his hip, slapping the whole Deck into Yugi's hands before reclaiming the top five cards. "Think that will actually work!" They had speculated more than once about whether or not they could call upon the cards outside of a Duel the way Honda told them he saw Yami-no-Bakura do once on Duelist Kingdom Island, but they had never actually tried it.

Yami shook his head with a grim "It had better."

The creature had also backed a step, reassessing its prey. Yugi wondered if it sensed their power. _He_ could feel it, at any rate, just as he always could when he or Yami touched the cards or when Yami accessed the Shadow powers of the Millennium Puzzle. _This might actually work_. Yes – in fact, he was sure of it.

But something did not feel quite right.

He saw Yami smirk to himself. The Heart of the Cards had come through once more. He whipped out one card from the rest, turning it face-forward to the creature as it lunged with a snarl. "Reveal spell card – Mirror Force!"

Nothing happened.

Yugi danced back in horror as Yami collapsed under the beast's massive paw, claws sinking through his chest to the sheaths. _N-no blood__ . . . ?_ the rational portion of his mind noted, even as the rest of him trembled with reaction.

_No pain, either_, he heard Yami grunt silently, having picked up his partner's thoughts, but Yami was still trapped by its weight and its weapons. "Get off him! Let him go!" he barked as he launched himself at the nightmare beast.

He caught its shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of fur. A shudder of horror ran through him as both tufts came away in his hands on patches of rotting flesh, and he dropped to the ground with an _ooof!_

The beast shifted, snapping at Yugi, who could not back away, feeling a bracing around his torso he could not explain. _What the - ? No time for that!_ he admonished himself, ducking a swipe of dagger-claws. He tumbled in Yami's direction as the creature sat back on its haunches, trying to flatten him to the pavement under one huge paw.

8 8 8 8 8

Yami crab-crawled back and sideways out from under the creature as it turned on Yugi, lifting its foot in the process. The claws had slid free from his chest, bloodless, leaving no marks in their wake. _Never mind that now!_ In spite of the situation, he paused before trying to regain his feet, eyes scanning the ground for his dropped hand cards, but they were nowhere to be seen. _N-no . . ._ Then, his arms were full of Yugi as his partner rolled into him from a barely-successful dodge.

"Any other ideas?" Yugi gasped, breathless with terror.

Yami gazed up at the hate-filled eyes glaring down on them, maw dripping saliva that hit the pavement at their feet with an ominous hiss. He shuddered in fear. "Only one, Aibou – _RUN!_"

They scrambled to their feet, throwing themselves across the sidewalk and down a narrow alley, aiming to prevent the creature from being able to follow them. It proved more agile than they had hoped. They turned a corner only to skid to a stop with twin moans of dismay. "Great! Of _course_," Yami huffed. "Dead end."

"Either we're sharing a nightmare – not the first time," Yugi added with a dark chuckle of sarcasm, " – or we've found ourselves in a really bad horror film."

"I'll take either of those over reality at this point." With Yugi hugging his side, Yami pressed his back to the wall, creeping along back to the corner. He just started to peer around but jumped in surprise at a cry of "Gah!" from his partner. He whipped around.

* * *

Author's Note: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

I kinda set up for a small number of things that I was unfortunately never able to explore . . . ((sadness))


	4. Chapter 4 Soul Train

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Afterlife"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 4 – Soul Train

Yugi gaped in disbelief at the weathered old man in a conductor's uniform who had just tapped his shoulder. "Well?" the old man groused at them. "Are you coming or not?"

Yugi shook his head in bewilderment, noting a massive blue steam engine where the dead-end had just been. "C-coming? Coming where?"

Yami took a moment to glance around the corner. "Aibou, it's gone. ACK!" he protested as the conductor took them each by the scruff of his jacket collar. "_You!_ Unhand us!"

"Come on, boys. We ain't got all night. All aboard!" He shoved them towards the open door of a train car, snatching something from each one's pocket.

"Hey!" Yugi sputtered, relenting when he realized it wasn't one of their cards, which he had stowed in that same pocket. In fact, it looked like a train ticket. _What in the world - ?_ He climbed the stairs to the interior out of obedient reflex, Yami a step behind.

"Now that you're on, you can't go back." The conductor shut the door even as Yami reacted, slamming into it. The whistle of the train sounded, shrill and echoing in the night air.

"No! Open this door!" Yami fell against the wall as the train lurched into motion, Yugi stumbling into his back. No matter how hard he pulled, the door would not budge.

"Maybe . . . maybe we're _supposed_ to be on this train," Yugi offered. "Come on. Let's go ask someone where this thing's headed." With a sigh, Yami relented and followed.

They passed people of all ages and descriptions, but no one would meet their eyes. Finally, in a car near the very back, they found some empty seats, settling in for the journey. "I think I've heard that some people believe you take a train to your final destination after you die," Yugi mused. "Of course, it depends on who you ask. There are so many versions of Heaven, Hell, and all. Oh, Other Me . . . your Deck." He pulled the stack of cards from his jacket pocket, noting the quiet grief in his partner's eyes as they were accepted back by their owner. "I'm sorry about the ones we had to leave behind."

8 8 8 8 8

Yami let his head fall back against the wall behind him, eyes closing for a moment as the grief threatened to overtake him. "Mirror Force, Curse of Dragon, Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Swords of Revealing Light . . . and Dark Magician," he intoned, his voice flat. He knew every card in their Deck, knew the sight and mystical feel of them in his hands, the monsters and spells re-ingraining themselves in his mind with every draw. He opened his eyes, finding Yugi's at a soft noise of empathy and inexpressible sadness. Yugi gazed back, his eyes wide with stricken disbelief. There were no words. Any loss was a grievous one, but to have lost Dark Magician, his old friend Mahaad . . .

Yami finally let his gaze fall to the Deck in his hand . . . and gasped in shock. Dark Magician gazed up at him from the top card. He shuffled quickly through the rest of the Deck, finding to his relief and bewilderment that they were all present.

"How – ?" Yugi's voice failed him in his shock.

Yami had one speculation but was reluctant to speak it without more proof. "I don't know, Aibou," he admitted with a shrug. Straightening the cards carefully, he slid them back into his Deck case, then turned to gaze out the black windows as vague shapes of darkness flitted by.

* * *

Author's Note: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

And yes, this fic is marked "Complete" for a reason. The rp never went anywhere, and neither did this. No, I have no plans for continuing it. Had I been able to come up with an actual plot by now, I would have. And the more I look at it, the more I kinda like this open-ended ending anyway. The fell beast was a plot device to get the boys moving before they could really explore the missing Puzzle, keep them from visiting the living before they got on the train, and to make sure they /did/ get on the train . . . as well as an idea I offered up to fellow muns on the comm for a foil that people could use to get some action going. If anyone noticed, no one said anything.

You, however, gentle readers, are free to continue the story in whatever direction pleases you, if you feel the need for it to /be/ continued. All I ask is acknowledgment back here as well as to the comm that inspired it . . . and let me know when/if you post so I can read and enjoy as well.


End file.
